Caxton Associates LLP Takes $497,000 Position in News Corporation $NWSA

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP purchased 18,259 shares of News Corporation for approximately $497,000 in the first quarter, marking a significant investment in the company.
• Multiple investors, including Goldman Sachs and Dynamic Technology Lab, have increased their stakes in News Corporation, indicating growing institutional interest.
• News Corporation recently announced a $0.10 dividend to be paid on October 8th, which results in a dividend yield of 70.0% and reflects a low payout ratio of 9.62%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in News Corporation (NASDAQ:NWSA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of News by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,764,497 shares of the company's stock worth $1,409,030,000 after buying an additional 812,180 shares during the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of News by 2.2% during the first quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 27,189,590 shares of the company's stock worth $740,101,000 after buying an additional 572,331 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of News by 18.7% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 13,846,298 shares of the company's stock worth $376,896,000 after buying an additional 2,183,613 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of News by 24.4% during the first quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 11,147,654 shares of the company's stock worth $303,439,000 after buying an additional 2,185,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of News by 1.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,391,564 shares of the company's stock worth $146,758,000 after buying an additional 80,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NWSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $32.70 target price on shares of News in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of News from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of News from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, News currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.62.

News Trading Up 2.3%

NWSA stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.89. The stock had a trading volume of 4,263,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,381,154. The firm has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News Corporation has a 1-year low of $23.38 and a 1-year high of $30.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.17.

News (NASDAQ:NWSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. News had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 5.66%. News's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that News Corporation will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

News Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a half year 25 dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a yield of 70.0%. News's payout ratio is presently 9.62%.

About News

News Corporation, a media and information services company, creates and distributes authoritative and engaging content, and other products and services for consumers and businesses worldwide. It operates through six segments: Digital Real Estate Services, Subscription Video Services, Dow Jones, Book Publishing, News Media, and Other.